Three spectators who went to watch the Indian Air Force‘s air show died on Sunday after the event. They were admitted to hospitals due to dehydration and other issues, but doctors say that the actual cause of death can only be determined after postmortem test results are available.
The air show at Chennai’s Marina Beach caused chaos in the state capital, leaving lakhs of people stranded on roads, Metro, and railway stations.
Massive crowd had gathered at Marina Beach to witness the aerobatics but faced severe difficulties after the event concluded at 1 pm. The spectators attempted to exit simultaneously, resulting in chaos on roads and at metro and suburban stations.
The state government has not yet released any official information regarding this matter.
A massive crowd, larger than usual, was observed at these locations. Trains at railway stations are overcrowded, with passengers crammed up to the gates of the boggies. Meanwhile, the Chennai metro announced that trains will be running at a 3.5-minute frequency between Washermanpet Metro and AG DMS Metro, while a 7-minute frequency will be maintained in the Corridor-1 section (Wimco Nagar Depot Metro – Airport Metro). “As usual, trains running at 7 mins frequency in Green Line (Puratchi Thalaivar Dr.M.G.Ramachandran Central Metro – St. Thomas Mount). The above service timing change is applicable for to Cater over Crowd Metro stations (06-10-2024),” it said in a post on X.
According to the information, a 56-year-old man named John was brought dead to Omandurar government hospital after attending the event in the afternoon. Omandurar Hospital dean Arvind has stated that the exact reason for the death, whether it was due to the heat, can only be determined after the post-mortem report is available. Following the air force show, around 30 people were admitted to Omandurar Government Hospital in the evening due to the impact of the heat. Most of them have been discharged and sent back to their homes.